1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disk apparatus provided with a head carriage device including a read/write head, a head carriage, a carriage drive motor, a guide shaft, and a flexible printed circuit cable. In the disk apparatus of this type, the head carriage is moved along the guide shaft by a force of the carriage drive motor, so that the head on the head carriage is positioned to a disk in its radial direction when reading information from or writing information to the disk.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a magnetic disk apparatus, a flexible-type magnetic disk is inserted therein. In the disk apparatus of this type, a head carriage which carries a read/write head thereon is moved along a guide shaft, so that the read/write head on the head carriage is positioned to the magnetic disk in a radial direction thereof when reading information from or writing information to the magnetic disk.
A typical head carriage device, which is used by a conventional disk apparatus of the above type, includes a head carriage and a lead screw connected to a carriage drive motor. The head carriage is linked to the lead screw, and the lead screw is rotated by the carriage drive motor so that the head carriage is moved relative to the magnetic disk in the radial direction. The head carriage has a connecting pin which is linked to an external thread on the lead screw. When the lead screw is rotated by the carriage drive motor, the head carriage is moved relative to the magnetic disk in the radial direction by a distance proportional to a rotational angle of the lead screw.
The above-mentioned movement of the head carriage relative to the magnetic disk in the radial direction is proportional to a rotational angle of the lead screw, or to a rotational angle of a drive shaft of the carriage drive motor. In order to enable the head on the head carriage to be moved in an entire range from the innermost track to the outermost track of the magnetic disk, it is necessary to suitably adjust the position where the carriage drive motor is installed in the conventional disk apparatus during assembly.
During the assembly of the conventional disk apparatus, the carriage drive motor is temporarily attached to a mounting surface of a frame such that the drive shaft of the motor is freely rotatable with respect to the connecting pin of the head carriage. After the position of the carriage drive motor installed is suitably adjusted, the carriage drive motor is permanently fixed to the mounting surface of the frame by fastening two or more screws.
In the above-described head carriage device, a plurality of connection terminals are provided on the outer periphery of the carriage drive motor, and they are projecting from the outer periphery. During the assembly of the conventional disk apparatus, a flexible printed circuit cable is soldered to the connection terminals of the carriage drive motor so that an electrical connection between the carriage drive motor and a control circuit via the flexible printed circuit cable is established. After the soldering is performed, the flexible printed circuit cable is arranged in a slack condition so as to allow for the positioning of the carriage drive motor to which the cable is soldered. For example, the flexible printed circuit cable is folded back at its end in a U-shaped formation in order to keep the cable in a slack condition.
However, in the conventional disk apparatus, the flexible printed circuit cable arranged in the slack condition may interfere with the connection terminals on the outer periphery of the carriage drive motor, which is detrimental to the surface of the flexible printed circuit cable.
A conceivable measure to eliminate the interference between the flexible printed circuit cable and the connection terminals is to shorten the connection terminals of the carriage drive motor by cutting off the edges of the connection terminals. However, if this measure is taken, it is difficult to ensure good quality of soldering of the flexible printed circuit cable and the connection terminals of the carriage drive motor. Further, if the measure is taken, an additional assembly operation to cut off the leading edges of the connection terminals is required. It is difficult to maintain efficiency of assembly operations needed for the conventional disk apparatus at the desired level.